Age does not affect complications and overall survival rate after pancreaticoduodenectomy: Single-center experience and systematic review of literature

We aimed to evaluate the feasibility of pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) in elderly patients. We retrospectively analyzed data from 206 patients who underwent PD between 2008 and 2015. The patients were divided into two groups: patients aged < 70 years (n = 117) and those aged ≥ 70 years (n = 89). To update the outcome of PD in elderly patients, we performed a systematic review of published work. The preoperative patient characteristics were similar between the two groups except for hypertension, which was significantly more frequent in the older group (25% vs. 52%; p < 0.001). There was no difference in the mortality (0% vs. 1%; p = 0.43) or morbidity (26% vs. 20%; p = 0.41) rates between the two groups. The overall survival rate in patients with pancreatic cancer between the two groups did not differ (p = 0.40). Twenty-one studies, including our own, were identified in the published work. The overall median morbidity and mortality rates of the elderly patients were 41.5% (range, 20-78%) and 5.8% (range, 0-10.5%), respectively. PD is feasible in elderly patients with acceptable morbidity and mortality rates.